Shell
by tetora
Summary: STNJ members become confused when a supposedly dead friend and former member comes back to their HQ but introduces herself as another person. Please read and review. :]


A/N: Ok, so here it is. The most important thing you need to relate to this story is to finish watching the series, up to the very last part of it, including the little clip at the end of the ending song of the last episode. Dunno if you'd seen that, but it's about someone going out of the cab, in the same camera angle it had been when Robin reached Raven's Flat in the first episode. It shows a hint of someone visiting headquarters who looked like Robin.

It's okay if you didn't get to watch till the end, but you could at least have a good concept of what happened…really now.

By the way, it's obvious that one chapter is so long. But I'm just starting and there are things to explain for awhile and that's why it took this much before I could end the chapter. Please bear with it, I promise I'll make this story a good one.

Summary: Robin and Amon were assumed to have died from the Factory incident. Michael and Haruto refused to believe Dojima when they heard about it, but she insists that she's saying the truth, because Miho was the first one who broke the news to her. Now both Haruto and Michael turned their doubts on Miho, until one day, a month after the Factory incident, a new hunter was sent to the STN-J headquarters. Everyone was surprised to see her, because she looked exactly like Robin, but she tells them she's not. Could she really be Robin? And how come Miho was just as surprised as them when she met the new hunter? Did that mean she was saying the truth after all? What really happened to Amon and Robin after that fateful day?

Please read and review anyway. Enjoy

Disclaimer: I disclaim Witch Hunter Robin. Happy?

The story picks up from where the series left off.

-c-h-a-p-1--- -replacement-

The silence almost deafened his ears. The only sound he could hear was his own heartbeat, and the very discreet clicking of glasses that Harry was washing by the kitchen. He took a deep breath and then placed his head on his palm as he rested his elbow on the counter, not knowing if it was stress or simply frustration.

_Sometimes I think…maybe I should just believe Dojima-san all along. About what happened that fateful day…_

"Care for some tea now, Michael?" Harry asked for a second time, the first one refused by the blonde, peeking from the door behind the counter.

"Oh, uh…ok." He replied, half-thinking about it. Maybe that would do, but it would be better if he could munch on some snacks instead. For some reason, he didn't feel like going out to buy some chips. Actually, he went there with the idea that Harry could help him sort out something he's been thinking for a while now, and not because he enjoyed staying in the place. He'd been there only a couple of times—that night, and today.

All of a sudden the image of his usual hangout at Raven's Flat popped up in his head. He was looking at it before he went out the HQ, hoping he might just hear that voice again. _I remember well how I felt knowing that she was just on the other side. The only thing I can do for her that time was to listen to what she wanted to talk about and do what she asked me to do._

Harry finally arrived with the tea, and served it to Michael. Sitting up, Michael looked into Harry's eyes with a questioning look. He didn't know if he should bring up the topic or not.

"Is it Robin?" Harry asked, making his customer surprised. Michael didn't say anything, though, and just looked away. "You've been hiding it all this time, haven't you?"

"No, it's not about her." Michael lied, sipping some of his tea. Smiling, he looked up at Harry and said, "Wow, the tea is great."

Harry nodded at him and smiled back warmly. "Espresso."

"Huh?" he uttered, confused. Did espresso mean like some sort of thanks other than its being a name for a drink?

"She used to order it when she comes here. So I make sure I never run out of it. I always keep it ready for heating in my storage."

Michael tried not to give a hard look at Harry. Why is he putting up all this Robin fuss all of a sudden? "What do you want me to say? And why did you bring that up anyway?" he said, trying to keep his tone calmer and less irritated. His grip on his teacup tightened.

"I didn't bring it up. Your eyes had been saying so all along." Harry replied. He wiped his hands on his apron. "I was wondering, too, if I should ask you, young lad."

Michael stayed silent and waited for Harry to tell him what it is, even though his eyes weren't looking at the gentle bartender.

"Do you also have the feeling that she's not really…uh—"

The hacker knew all along what Harry would ask at this point. He shook his head firmly to stop Harry from talking. Finishing his tea, he kept his eyes closed and uttered, "If, like me, you're actually thinking that she's alive somewhere, I'd rather you stop it. There are things in this world that can't be changed merely by believing," the blonde said.

Michael stood up and took his coat. "Thanks for the tea, Harry." He said, not looking back at him. Before he even got out of the door, Harry made him stop walking by reminding him, "Still, you've got to be strong."

Like he did earlier, he didn't say anything, and did not look at Harry either.

"Wasn't that what she'd taught you?" Harry asked, with a tone that seemed to partly mock Michael.

Michael just went out the bar, not knowing what to say. Things are running through his head—a lot of things.

_Of course I'll remember what you taught me to be. Robin._

--------------------

Miho angrily tapped her finger on the desk. "Just where the heck is that little nitwit?"

"Whoa, Karasuma-san, I thought you use that name only for me?" Haruto butted in. He sat facing the back of the chair, just like they do when watching Michael work things out on the computer.

"His phone is off." Yurika said, yawning afterwards. She stretched a bit and leaned on the sofa. "Maybe he's working?"

"Working?" Both Miho and Haruto reacted. Haruto just looked at Miho and shrugged. "Since when did Michael work on something else other than his playground?"

"You see, the networks he'd been breaking into are almost the same stuff and since he's such an expert it's just like doing it over and over again. You should give him a break." Yurika said, winking at them.

For a moment there was silence, and her two teammates looked at her with mock frown. "Wasn't it Dojima-san who's always asking Michael to break into some network?" Haruto whispered to Miho.

Miho shrugged, but knew he was right. "Let's just pretend we agree to what she said." She whispered back. The door to the main room suddenly opened with a loud creak in time with Yurika shouting "What are you saying over there!"

Hattori came in, scratching his head, which emphasizes how dumb he already looked. If it were not for his faithfulness to Admin. Kosaka and his trying to be out of the big picture, Yurika would have always bullied him.

"Karasuma-san, Administrator Kosaka wants you to see him. He says he wants to introduce someone to you."

The three hunters looked at each other. "Introduce?"

Yurika suddenly stood up and pulled Miho towards the door. She arranged the long collar of Miho's coat and smiled up at her. "Get yourself ready! Who knows, it might be that Mr. Kosaka has finally found the guy for you! And he wants you to meet that guy!"

Miho found herself blushing, but she half-believed it. "What makes you think he has the right to decide?" Miho retorted. "He's not my father, first of all!"

A little while ago, Haruto was so sleepy, but all of a sudden what those two just did made him laugh. "So you're looking for a guy after all." He joined.

"Ugh!" Miho turned around and glared at him. "Why you little nitwit!"

Yurika pushed her out the door. "Come on, now, Miho-chan. It's time to meet Mr. Right!"

"I'll get you for this later!" Miho gritted her teeth and stomped away, Hattori keeping distance.

"See ya!" Yurika waved. Going back into the room, she found Haruto at the verge of slipping into dreamland. "You sure are bored, Haruto."

"No work for a week, and now tell me why I shouldn't get bored?" Haruto said, resting his head on his hand.

"Thanks to Zaizen's selfishness, we haven't got work to do these days. Nothing but rest!" she exclaims happily. She was saying that since the Factory had collapsed because they stopped Zaizen from fulfilling his evil dreams, now they have no heavy orders from Solomon.

"Yeah, all we've got to do is try collecting information and updates about witches, but so far we won't be able to do anything else, since we don't have any orders from Solomon yet. What do you know about this, anyway?" Haruto suddenly asks her, his voice slightly into suspicion.

"What I know? Well, what I know is that Michael's really the only one who's actually getting something. He can take any kind of information, just tell him what to do, and leave it all to him. So even though we're also trying to look for info, it's not like we're really helping him because the sites we look into are not really under heavy security. In short, Michael's the one suffering from Admin. Kosaka's orders."

"I'm not talking about that, I'm saying maybe you know something about what Solomon is going to do now that the Factory's lost."

"Ever since that day, I asked Solomon if I could stop being a spy for them on that matter, since everything about Orbo had been destroyed, and I have no more things to investigate. But I'll still be their agent."

Haruto rolled his eyes, thinking they're getting into nothing. "Isn't that the same thing?"

"They're different. I meant I'd still be working for them, but not as secret personnel. Perhaps now Solomon had already learned their lesson. I doubt they're not doing anything to make it up for what they had done." Yurika confidently stated. "Anyway, do you want to stay awake? Put your communicator to your ear. Mute the mic, however. You wouldn't want her to get angrier than she was a while ago when she finds out we knew what she and her husband-to-be are going to talk about."

"What are you up to?" Haruto asked her, putting on his communicator anyway. Knowing Yurika, she's not into serious stuff, and always finds trouble for people.

"You can call it 'intentional tapping ability'. I inserted Miho's communicator in her chest pocket so we could tune in." Yurika giggled. Haruto remembered seeing Yurika fix Miho's collar.

Haruto sank lower in his chair. "One more question, just how guaranteed are you that when I listen as well, I won't be the only one who'll be busted when she finds out?"

------------------

"Admin. Kosaka, Karasuma-san is here."

"Come in." the administrator said. Miho came into the office and nodded as a greeting. "Have a seat, Karasuma-san, this might take a while."

As Miho took her seat, she observed that the Mr. Kosaka's face was somewhat showing a mixture of feelings.

Mr. Kosaka didn't know which one to tell her first. He placed his elbows on his desk, and joined his hands, hiding half his face to Miho, which made him look readably wise enough for his position. "Solomon HQ has contacted me about Orbo."

"Orbo? I thought every last bit of Orbo had been destroyed in the Facto—"

"No. I mean, yes. The Orbo in the Factory last month had been all burned and went down with the building, but Solomon figured they can't afford to do the hunting the deadlier way. You see, using Orbo bullets don't hit the ones who use them and are mainly for witches only. But if we use real bullets, anyone could be hurt, and losing Solomon hunters are a bit…risky."

Miho took some time to take in what Mr. Kosaka had said. "So you're saying they're still going to find a way to hunt witches with only normal people now? I mean, since the Orbo was destroyed; now it's safer to use normal people as hunters."

"I'm afraid that idea was merely Zaizen's own. His goals were apart from what Solomon aims to do, which is to prevent the witches from using their power against the human race. Zaizen only wants to overcome every witch that used crafts, regardless of their being harmless or not." Mr. Kosaka leaned back on his chair. "He wanted normal people to do the job most probably because he was afraid if craft-users and special people turn their back on him they would kill him or something."

"'Or something'? That's quite unbecoming of the administrator." Miho said, though something else bugs her. _So that means the Factory was the real one behind Robin's identification as a witch. I must've been pretty judgmental about Solomon, after all._

Mr. Kosaka ignored her comment. "So I mean Solomon is not planning to get rid of any craft-user or potentially-skilled hunter who's working for them. You need not worry."

Miho suddenly turned serious. "I'm not worried. If they identify me as a witch, it's ok. But I'm really glad Orbo was destroyed, I don't want something made out of another witch be the thing that destroys me."

"Perhaps that was what the witches you have caught had felt when they got hit by the Orbo you guys used on them."

Miho's hand flew to her mouth and she gasped. She didn't realize that. "I'm sorry," She said, looking down.

"We can't blame you; STN-J only follows orders without that much information. However, this time, Solomon promises to update us on almost everything that's going on. On the hunting missions, on the officer meetings, news, everything except the topmost confidential issues. Especially on the weapons we're going to use." Mr. Kosaka explained.

Miho looked up at him, confused. "Weapons?"

"I was wondering how I'd get to that point, Miho, and now I have the opportunity to start. Solomon HQ has updated me about a week ago that they'd be using a special type of weapon most similar to the Orbo's function. And since Orbo was used to hunt down witches, they'd still be using that name for the weapon. It was dreadful to name it after the disgusting one we used before, but they say there's really no harm in using the same name."

At that moment, all Miho could do was look at Mr. Kosaka, not knowing how to react. She remained silent, but there were more questions she wanted to ask.

"This time, we will be briefed on its history, and we are given a copy of their research through Michael's computer and we get to be updated weekly on what's up with their Orbo project, to ensure us that this time, they won't be making it from the hunted ones."

"They've manufactured it and have it planned only a month after the incident?" Miho asked finally, trying not to keep her mind on how mercilessly the hunted witches had been used by the Factory before. Haruto told her the story when she recovered from her wounds, and it was really awful when she heard. "That's too fast! How could they have—?"

"Relax, Karasuma-san. They've been doing it for a couple of years now. Solomon had been researching for a hunting alternative, in case STN-J runs out of Orbo, stopping the Factory being the only way to make that happen. Somehow they knew the Factory's secret will soon be found out by the STN-J workers. They kept it from us and waited for us to send a request."

"It must be tough being the administrator." Miho said, seeing how complicated it must have been to Mr. Kosaka to receive all these information and think of it first before telling them about it.

"Yeah, there were papers needed to be signed here and there, meetings to go to, and it's all for the STN-J anyway. I'm being paid for my job well, so I make sure I don't slack around." Mr. Kosaka said.

"Why is it only me that you would tell this about? Why not just call a meeting downstairs so that it won't take much of your time briefing us?"

"I'd rather tell only one of you first, to find out how you would react to this news. When I learned about all these myself, it took a while for me to sink it all in my brain. Anyway, starting next week, I expect to receive your ready-made Orbo, so that you could start the hunting right away. Wouldn't it be nice to be back on your job?"

Miho smiled at him and nodded. _Thanks for trusting me, Administrator._

Mr. Kosaka beamed a smile back. "Besides, I still have a surprise for you."

-----------------

Yurika jammed her fingers into her phone. _Damnit Michael why aren't you answering!_

"It looks like Michael is the one who's left behind now on information. Really, I'd like it better if he was the one who'd tell us the news. I don't want to learn about things this way." Haruto complained.

Brows meeting, Yurika stared at him. "And just what do you mean by 'this way'?"

"This is illegal! Didn't you hear the administrator? He wants to tell this ONLY to Miho because it's almost confidential." Haruto retorted. He never really liked the idea of eavesdropping, and to make matters worse, it's the administrator they're tuning into.

Yurika thought differently. She was thinking this is fun, and she won't get into trouble anyway. "It's going to be the same thing, Haruto. He's going to tell us soon, after all. You're already involved up to this point, so are you going to continue listening? Or you'd rather remain ignorant to what's going on?"

Haruto gritted his teeth and admitted defeat. She was right. On what he had heard so far, he's too tempted to hear more of the conversation. Something in the back of his mind tells him there's a chance the administrator might just decide not telling these things to them anymore. "Pretend that we didn't know anything." Haruto finally said, taking a deep breath before saying it. "Where's Michael?"

Yurika flashed him a playful smile. "You know, you're really cute sometimes."

Half-surprised, Haruto turned his head to look at Yurika. Not that he really cared, this wasn't the first time she complimented him like this. For some reason he knew she would ask him a favor later on. He put his hands into his pocket and placed his legs on the desk and crossed them. "Where's Michael?" he repeated.

"He's nowhere to be found." Yurika said. She put her index finger on her lips to signal him to be quiet. "Oh...right now they're just laughing. What a useless conversation. Well, anyway, I think Michael might just be around. He had been out only a few times since last month, so I doubt he knew any far place to go to."

"Come on, he was the one who sends us the map for every mission. I doubt he hasn't memorized anything, especially with his way of thinking. He could remember things he'd been through only once." Haruto said.

--------------

As those things happened at STN-J HQ, Michael felt a bit uncomfortable being outside the HQ. It was like there was something he needs to do and there was something he's missing out at the moment. He walked really slow, trying not to think about it. He wondered what he should think of to make him feel better.

Surprisingly, Robin's image appeared in his head. He smiled warmly at the thought of her and stopped in his tracks. _If you were here, would things still be the same?_

_If you made it out alive that fateful day, would I be talking to you face to face, rather than hearing only your voice from that well at Raven's Flat?_

Michael found himself longing to see Robin again, but knew it was impossible. If there was anyone who changed something in him, it was Robin.

That moment, a leaf fell on his shoulder. He took it with his hand, and stared at it as though it was something new. "Guess being imprisoned in that building for a couple of years could mean a lot more than a bit of torture."

The two years he spent sitting in front of his computer at Raven's Flat seemed to be longer than the 14 years he lived outside it before he got caught. Now that he thought about it, it never really mattered to him before if he stayed inside. It was a different story seeing Raven's Flat from outside. Seeing the world from a window is different from seeing a window while out in the world.

He had started walking when he saw a guy pass by him, carrying a plastic bag with the logo of Peco mart. Again Robin invaded Michael's thoughts. She used to buy at that store. Everybody does, anyway. But she went there often, too. Michael remembered the night he first talked to her about himself.

"_Are you hungry? I bought some donuts. I'll go make some tea." Robin says warmly. Her voice was too comforting for me to refuse her._

_That time the moon was shining brightly in the sky and as I stared out into the blackness of the world outside Raven's Flat, the atmosphere was too lonely to handle alone. Then you came along._

Michael managed to work a smile out of his lips as he walked. It was funny. The first time they thought they had lost Robin and Amon, there was never a feeling of longing and discomfort without them except when it came down to hunting terms. Michael was even calm that time, knowing and understanding possibilities.

Then one time, while eating by the well-like structure at the basement of STN-J HQ, he heard her call out to him. Night by night he visited that place, waiting for her to come. He wanted to help her, but for some reason he wanted to comfort her. Robin's voice was too lonely, she sounded like she was bearing the world on her own shoulders. He knew he wouldn't be able to take much of her burden, so he did whatever she asked him to do.

Almost every night for the past month he went to the well and waited there the whole night, hoping she would call. Sometimes he even thought she was already talking to him, and of course he replied and then realizing that he was only talking to himself.

If anything is bothering him, it's why these feelings have welled up only at this time. If, before, he had realized these things, he wouldn't have been thinking about them much right now. He would have been able to tell her…

------------------------

Miho wiped the tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Her stomach can't take the pain any longer from laughing. For a while, Mr. Kosaka seemed to have his own funny side after all.

After their short break, both have returned to their serious topic.

"Anyway, since Solomon wanted to introduce to us the latest Orbo, there will, of course, be a few changes here and there. For that, Solomon sent us a new hunter to guide us through what those things could be. Of course, STN-J does a quite different kind of hunting from Solomon, so you have to teach what we know here in return."

"A new hunter…last time, they sent Robin only six months after Kate's loss. Now they're sending in another only a month after we reported that she and Amon are—" she tried to stop at that point. "As if the ones who just left were not really that important after all." Miho said, trying to adjust her voice to a steady one.

Mr. Kosaka considered for a moment. "No, I guess…maybe they just wanted to help. It's hard to explain, but I think Solomon doesn't want a member loss to get to us because we might forget about what we're really supposed to do. Lives are at stake, we can't mourn over those hunters for a long period of time or else more witches will be on the loose and people will be in danger."

-------------------------

Haruto frowned again and leaned backward on his chair such that his head tilted back as well. "They sent in another one. Just like that."

Almost surprisingly, Yurika stayed silent. She seemed to be in deep thought. Haruto took a glance at her when she didn't speak, and saw that she was staring blankly into space.

_She missed Robin, too._ Haruto realized. _What's going on? How could Solomon do this… first of all, they are showing us that they think we can't handle the missions by ourselves. Secondly, they—I don't want Robin and Amon to be replaced by anyone. Their positions should remain empty. I don't want to forget them, just like we had forgotten Kate when Robin came._

Yurika brought out her phone again and dialed something. Haruto saw that she just put down the phone and didn't remark on anything. She didn't even shout or something like she usually does. _She's affected by what she heard._

_Solomon is up to something. They have planned this all along. It was too fast to happen. They have been expecting our Orbo to be depleted a long time ago. They also have a back-up replacement for Robin ready in only a month, as though they knew what was going to happen. _Yurika thought. Just then, Mr. Kosaka coughed lightly a few times, a start of introduction.

Haruto suddenly thought of a question. "Hey, Doji—"

"SSH!" Yurika hissed, putting up a hand to stop Haruto from talking. She pointed to her communicator. Haruto knew she meant that the hunter will be introduced today.

They listened quietly into the conversation.

(Mr. Kosaka: I'm sorry to surprise you a few more times, Karasuma-san. But the hunter had already arrived by dawn. Around 6 a.m.)

(Miho: That early? I guess that's why we never had a clue someone's coming. That guy at the door, I'll get him for not telling us.)

(Mr. Kosaka: Anyway, I wanted to introduce to you the new STN-J hunter.)

There was the sound of Mr. Kosaka's chair rotating. Either he just rotated his chair, or he stood up from his seat.

(Mr. Kosaka: You can come in now.)

There was a very heavy atmosphere of stillness that filled both the office and the main room at the HQ. Everything seemed to stop. Miho didn't say anything for a long time, as if she was stunned at meeting the new hunter.

That moment, Yurika and Haruto were very certain they heard Miho right. What came out of Miho's lips made Yurika and Haruto stand up as though they've been bolted by some electric shock.

(Miho: Ro—Robin?)

--you know that place, where Robin escaped when the Factory raided STN-J? Where there's a well that she went to so she could talk to Michael?

A/N: Scram. I know there are errors in there that I had overlooked so if ever you see one please notify me. Please review. I couldn't really state the pairing just yet. I'm undecided about it still, but if you have really great suggestions I'm ready to hear it. Please review!

By the way, did the chapter title sound familiar? (eyes twinkling) How come the damn asterisk doesn't work here?

Oh, and could someone fill me in on what the name of the old woman in the series was? The one who lived 400 years and died burning in front of Robin…you know…the one who controlled time..? If anyone could tell me who that was…I'd be really thankful.

Anyway, here's something for you guys:

Preview of the next chapter:

He was gradually walking near the two of them, eyes wide with surprise. Miho couldn't really tell what feeling he's holding in his face.

Miho coughed slightly. "Uh…good morning, Michael! What can I say? You were never this lat—"

"Robin!" Michael all of a sudden ran towards the girl beside Miho and pulled her in a tight embrace. "I—I don't know what to say…"

The new hunter, of course, was too stunned to be able to say anything. Michael hugged her tighter when she didn't respond. "I don't really know what to say. I—I missed you, Robin…"

Miho could do nothing but look at them. So Michael was not informed of her arrival…?

Thinking of a reason to do so, Miho stepped closer to them to try pulling Michael away from her. But even before she could do so the new hunter raised her arms up and embraced Michael back.

Just then Haruto came running out the headquarters, in time seeing the two of them hugging each other. He was being followed by Yurika, who was trying to ride in with Haruto's joke instead of thinking too much of what he said earlier. They both stopped in their tracks.

Seeing them, Michael pulled away. "Hey, you guys, why didn't you tell me Robin's back, huh? I should've come by earlier." He turned to the girl again. "I'm sorry…I…uh—I shouldn't have—"

But she only smiled at him. Michael had known those eyes for as long as he can remember. He had seen Robin wear that emotion every time she smiled. "It's okay." The new hunter said.


End file.
